Heater or cooler



June 23, 1931.

D. R. MCNEAL 1,811,402

HEATER OR COOLER Filed NOV. l2, 1927 3 /6444} ATTORNEYS Patented June 23, 1931 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE DANIEL RAYMOND MCNEAL, F ABINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR T6 ANDALE ENGINEERING OOMPANY, OF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA I HEATER on. COOLER Application filed November 12, 1927. Serial No. 232,745.

This invention relates to heaters or coolers and particularly to casing and header construction of heating and cooling apparatus and the like.

- Among the primary objects of the invention are to render a given heating or cooling unit readily adaptable to a variety of uses and to provide flexibility as to location of the device in the installation in which it is employed. a

The invention further contemplates the attainment of the foregoing in a simple and inexpensive manner.

Another object of the invention is to reduce maintenance costs in connection with apparatus of this kind by making easier the inspection, cleaning, repair and replacement of arts.

Still another object is to provide, in a heater or cooler having the foregoing advantages, improved means to prevent intermingling of the diflerent fluids passlng through the device, and to render obvious from the outside of the casing any leaks which may develop at concealed joints.

How' the foregoing, together with such other objects and advantages as are lncident to the invention or will occur to those skilled in the art, are attained, will clearly appear hereinafter, reference being had to the ac companying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an elevational view of a heater or cooler showing my improvements in section; and

Fig. 2 is a section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1. N j

The device comprises, in general, a casing 2, having a bottom closure 3 of ordinary con- 'struction which may have aeonvenient sup- ,4 porting base 4. At the top of the casing, and

preferably bolted to a flange 5 thereof, is a tube plate or sheet 6 in which the ends of the two banks or groups of tubes 7, 8, are secured. The bottom closure 3 forms a header or com 'municating passage from one bank of tubes to the other at their lower ends, said lower ends being also secured in a suitable tube sheet (not shown).

The chamber formed by the casing 2 and the upper and lower tube plates has inlet and outletopenings 9, 10, for the heating or cooling fluid, as the case may be. Such fluid may be caused to take a sinuous or circuitous path among the tubes by any suitable means, such as baflies 11. Only one such battle is here shown, but it will be understood that there are usually a number of them, spaced apart longitudinally of the chamber, of such width or diameter as to extend only partially across the chamber, and that they are placed alternately to one side and the other of the chamber. They may be made of a width slightly greater than half the diameter of the chamber, so that, when viewed in plan, their inner edges overlap (as shown This header structure comprises a flanged annular member 14, secured as by bolts 15 to the casing flange 5, and having inlet and outlet connections 16 and 17, and a cap or cover member 18, preferably secured to the ring 14 by bolts 19, and having an internal partition or dividing rib 20 which is adapted to cooperate with the tube sheet 6 by engagement withua groove 21 on said sheet. It will be seen that the fluid to be heated or cooled enters through inlet 16 and chamber 12 to 1 tubes 8, passing down through said tubes and up through tubes 7 to chamber 13, and thence out through the connection 17.

The plate 6 or the flange 5, or both, may

have'lanannular groove in line with the securing studs or bolts 22, the groove 23, here shown, being located on the face of the flange 5. At the inner and outer sides of said groove are annular gaskets 24, 25. The joint between the header member 14 and flange 5, and that between the member 14 and cover piece 18, are also provided, respectively, with gaskets 26 and 27. One of the bolt-holes 28 in the flange 5 is left open and provides a vent to the atmosphere from groove 23.

From the foregoing it will be evident that by merely substituting difl'erent header members 14 having inlets and outlets 16 and 17 of different size or arrangement, the structure is adapted to diflerent uses, such substitution being impossible in the ordinary type of heater or cooler where the inlets and outlets are formed integral with the main casing of the device. Furthermore, by shifting or turning the member 14 to bring different bolt holes in its flange in registry with the bolt holes in the flange 5 of the casing,

the inlet and outlet connections may be shifted (as indicated in dot and dash lines in Fig. 2) to suit various piping connections in different installations without the trouble of having to move the whole casing 2 and its base 4. I In addition, by merely removing cover member 18, without disturbing the pipe connections to inlet'and outlet 16 and 17, .the tubes may be readily inspected or the whole set of tubes may be lifted right out of the casing for cleaning or repair.

Along with such facility of repalr and flexibility of arrangement, the structure provides also for automatic disclosure of any leaks which may occur past the gaskets 24 and 25, when the fluids used are under pressure, by means of the groove 23 and the vent 28 to atmosphere. Likewise, any intermingling of the fluid in the tubes and their connecting passages with the fluid in the chamber of the. main casing is positively prevented by virtue of the fact that leakage can only take place to the outside, through said groove and vent. g

In short, the simple combination of flanged casing, tube sheet, annular head member, and cover plate, as shown and described, accomplishes the objects and advantages desired.

What I claim is 1. In apparatus of the character described, a casing member and a tube plate member secured, thereto, one of said members having a groove cooperating with the other member to form a channel with a joint at each side thereof, a head secured to said casing member, said plate and casing forming a chamber and said plate, casing, and head forming another chamber, and an outlet connected to said channel.

2. Iuapparatus of the character described, a casing member and a tube plate member secured thereto, one of said members having a groove cooperating with the other member 3. In apparatus of the character described,

a casing member and a tube plate member secured thereto, one of said members having a groove cooperating with the other member to form a channel with a joint at each side thereof, a head secured to said casing member, said plate and casing forming a chamber and said plate, casing, and head forming another chamber, and an outlet connected to said channel, together with fluid connections to said casing and fluid connections to said head.

4. In a heater or cooler, a main casing with a bundle of tubes therein, a tube plate having means securing it to the casing, a removable header member mounted on said casing adjacent said plate and having inlet and outlet connections, and a removable cover mounted on said header member said tube bundle and plate being removable from the casing upon removal of said cover without disturbing said header member or connections.

5. In a heater or cooler, a main casing with a bundle of tubes therein, a tube plate having means securing it to the casing, a removable header member mounted on said casing adjacent said plate and having inlet and outlet connections, and a removable cover mount- I 6. In a heater or cooler, a maincasing open at one end and having a flange around said opening, a bundle of tubes in said casing having a tube plate with means for detachably securing it to said flange, and a header member carrying inlet and outlet connections with means for detachably securing it to said flange beyond the periphery of the tube plate.

7. In a heater or cooler, a main casing open at one end and having a flange around said opening, a bundle of tubes in said casing having a tube plate with means for detachably securing it to said flange, and a header member carrying inlet and outlet connections with means for detachably securing. it to said flange beyond the periphery of the tube plate,

together with a removable cover member for opening, a bundle of tubes in said casing having a tube plate with means for detachably securing it to said flange, and a header member carrying inlet and outlet connections with means for detachably securin it to said flange beyond the periphery of t e tube plate, together with a removable cover member for said header member detachabl mounted thereon and having internal ri means cooperating with said tube plate to form a plurality of chambers in said header member.

9. In a heater or cooler, a main casing open at one end and having a flange around said opening, a bundle of tubes in said casing having a tube plate with means for detachably securing it to said flange,and a header member carrying inlet and outlet connections with means for detachably securing it to said flange beyond the periphery of the tube plate, said plate having two annular seats on said flange, one on each side of the plate securing means.

10. In a heater or cooler, a main casing open at one end and having a flange around said opening, a bundle of tubes in said casing having a tube plate with means for detachably securing it to said flange, and a header member carryin inlet and outlet connections with means for detachably securing it to said flange beyond the periphery of the tube plate said plate having two annular seats on said flange, one on each side of the plate securing means, together with an outlet connected to the space between said seats.

11. In a heat exchanger including a casing comprising a cylinder havin an enlarge end constituting a chamber oined to said cylinder by a web, said chamber provided with an inlet and an outlet as well as with an open end, a plurality of tubes, a tube sheet for the tubes disposed in said chamber and secured to said web, as well as a detachable cover for said open end, the combination of packing between the tube sheet and said web; and a continuous groove in said web adjacent said packing to receive liquid seepage.

12. In a heat exchanger including a casing comprising a cylinder having an enlarged end constituting a chamber ]oined to said cylinder by a web, said chamber provided with an inlet and an outlet as well as with an open end, a plurality of tubes, a tube sheet for the tubes disposed in said chamber and secured to said web, as well as a detachable cover for said open end, the combination of packing between the tube sheet and said web; and a continuous vented groove in said web adjacent said packing to receive liquid seepage from said chamber and said casing and pass the same from said exchanger.

13. In a heat exchanger, the combination of a casing comprising a cylinder having an enlarged end constituting a chamber ]o1ned to said cylinder by a web, said chamber prolie 

